The Submarine pick up their third consecutive win vs Sporting with goals by Soldado and Bakambu (2)
Villarreal keep their good run going on their quest to guarantee European football for next season. The Yellows picked up their third consecutive win in the LaLiga Santander against Real Sporting de Gijón thanks to an opening goal by Soldado and a brace by Bakambu. This result keeps Fran Escribá’s side firmly in fifth position.
The Submarine came out sharper than their opponents and almost took the lead on several occasions. The clearest chance fell to the boots of Roberto Soriano after spectacular attacking combination play by the Yellows, but the number 20’s shot was cleared off the goal line by Isma López (m. 13).
Sporting improved as the game went on. In fact, they came close to scoring twice. Firstly Moi Gómez hit a shot from long range that struck the crossbar, followed shortly after by Xavi Torres’ header in the box, but miraculously the ball did not end up in the net due to an extraordinary save by Andrés Fernández.
Villarreal reacted and managed to find the back of Cuéllar’s net. The opening goal came in the 32nd minute. Soldado brought down a ball over the top from a Rodri header and slipped it past the Sporting keeper to give the Yellows the lead.
The second and the third were courtesy of Cédric Bakambu. Firstly he beat Cuéllar by tucking away a brilliant through ball by Jonathan dos Santos (m. 46), while 13 minutes later he scored the third goal of the game from a driven cross in by Roberto Soldado.
Sporting pulled one back thanks to a shot across goal and into the far corner by Douglas (3-1), but the nature of the game stayed the same. An immensely important victory for Villarreal in their fight for European football.
The Submarine’s next match is against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Saturday 6th May at 6:30pm CET.
Lineups:
Villarreal CF: Andrés; Mario, Bonera, Álvaro, José Ángel; Jonathan dos Santos, Bruno, Rodrigo, Soriano (Trigueros, m. 88); Bakambu (Sansone, m. 68) and Soldado (Adrián, m. 75).
Real Sporting de Gijón: Cuéllar; Douglas, Babin, Amorebieta (Víctor Rodríguez, m . 51), Meré, Isma López; Carmona (Sergio Álvarez, m. 66), Xavi Torres, Vesga (Burgui, m. 46), Moi Gómez; and Cop.
Goals: 1-0. Min. 32: Soldado. 2-0. Min. 46: Bakambu. 3-0. Min. 59: Bakambu. 3-1. Min. 72: Douglas.
Referee: Estrada Fernández (Catalonia, Spain). Cautioned: Jonathan dos Santos and Bonera for Villarreal; Amorebieta for Sporting.
Match Information: Match corresponding to Matchday 35 of the LaLiga Santander played at the Estadio de la Cerámica in front of 15,120 spectators.
